Method and apparatus for cutting flat shaped pieces from plastic materials



y 1951 c. s. CHARRON AL ,561,050

urn-r100 AND APPARATUS FOR TING FLAT SHAPED pmczs mou PLASTIC MATERIALS Filed Feb. 23, 1946 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 i A: :l llll ///r Gil .3 1:11P IIIID IZTID m'vzn'roks J11 3 c. s. CHARRON CRAWFORD- BROWN Q5 7 1f 6 A'n'vs y 1951 c. s. CHARRON ETAL 2,561,050

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR CUTTING FLAT WED PIECES FR PLASTIC MATERIALS Filed Feb. 23, 1946 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 liyi VII/mm:

v "wen-mas C 5 CHARRON q L. CRAWFblD-BROWN uly 1951 c. s. CHARRON EI'AL METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR CUTTING FLAT SHAPED PIECES FROM PLASTIC MATERIALS 4 SheetsF-ShQet 5 Filed Feb. 23, 1946 X lNVlNTORfi' CQS- CHARRON L. CRAWFOR? N A'rrYs Patented July 17,1951

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR CUTTING FLAT SHAPED PIECES FROM PLASTIC MA- TEBIALS Charles S. Charron and Lyman Crawford-Brown, Toronto, Ontario, Canada Application February 23, 1946, Serial No. 849,542

7 Claims. (Cl. 184-18) This invention relates to a method and apparatus for cutting flat shaped pieces from plastic material.

In the present specification, we use the term plastic material in the broad sense to apply to such materials as raw, semi-cured material or synthetic rubber, thermo plastics, etc. It will be understood,vv therefore, that the invention applies to all plastic materials capable of being cut by a hot cutter.

The invention can clearly be illustrated by reference to the cutting of shoe parts wherein it has been the general practice in the past to diecut these materials, usually by hand, employing a die which is percussively engaged each timethe die is applied to the material for instance, in

order to cut out a sole. In another method the soles are cut by a travelling knife or disc operating around a suitable pattern. Such-methods are relatively slow in operation and require considerable amount of man power. These are among some of the disadvantages of the prior practice. Such disadvantages can be avoided under the present invention.

It'is an object of the present invention to provide a simple method of cutting out flat shaped pieces,- such as shoe soles and parts, and other patterned bodies from suitable plastic material wherein the article may be cut out quickly and preferably in quantity. f

A further object of the invention is to provide a method of this kind which may be adapted readily to various of said materials and regardless as to whether the material may tend to have adhesive characteristics.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a simple apparatus for effectively and quickly dieing out articles of this kind either singly or in multiple.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a special die construction for cutting articles of this kind.

A still further object of this invention is to provide cutting devices which may be readily adapted to a complete and automatic apparatus for carrying out the operations rapidly and systematically.

With these and other objects in view, the invention generally comprises a cutting die having a cutter of the required outline and a means 'for heating the cutter-so that the cutting operation is effected quickly and accurately. The heated cutting apparatus preferably is adapted 'to multiple cutting by way of a practical assembly of die elements in combination with coopcrating means for handling the material from whichthe articles are cut.

The invention will be clearly understood by reference to the following details specification takenin conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

2 In the drawings Fig.1 isatransversesectiontakenthrougha die according to the present invention illustrating the heating coil and die cutting contour heated thereby.

Fig. 2 is a schematic illustration of a multiple die formed as one platen of a cutting press.

Fig. 3 is a schematic illustration of a multiple rotary die according to the present invention to illustrate another manner in which the articles may be cut.

Fig. 4 is a schematic, partly sectional view of another manner in which the articles may be out according to the present invention when employing a press cutter.

Fig. 4A is a fragmentary sectional view of an alternative manner of handling the cut material.

Fig. 5 is a transverse section taken through a die according to the present invention and showing the manner in which an embossing die may be incorporated therewith and which is heated to a lesser degree than the cutting contour of the die.

Fig. 6 is an enlarged fragmentary illustration with a portion of the die knife passed through a ply of the material and wherein the die knife is notched so as to leave a'small web of material between the outline of the article cut and the base from which it is cut.

Fig. 7 is anenlarged fragmentary illustration similar to Fig. 6 taken at thereto to illustrate the manner of the notch and the web formed thereby.

Fig. 8 is a fragmentary plan view of a sheet of material illustrating the outlines of soles cut by the die and the approximate location of the webs of material left between the cut-out sole and the body of material from which it is cut.

Fig. 9 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional detail of a portion of the die knife entered into the material to be cut wherein the die knife is bevelled downwardly and outwardly to form a bevelled edge on an article cut.

Fig. 10 is a longitudinal section taken through a machine for automatically cutting articles from sheet material illustrating various of the operative parts thereof for performing the functions required.

Fig. 11 is a top plan view of the machine shown in Fig. 10 with part of the super-structure broken away more clearly to illustrate the underlying D rts.

Fig. 12 is a transverse section taken through the machine illustrated in Figs. 10 and 11.

Fig. 13 is an enlarged transverse section taken through the platen carrying the die to show the manner in which the die is releasably carried.

Fig. 14 is an enlarged partly sectional fragmentary view of a controlling cam employed in the machine to illustrate the manner in which one particular operation is effected; and

Fig. is an enlarged sectional detail of another form of die knife to illustrate the manner in which it is formed.

Referring to the drawings, and first of all particularly to Fig. 1, A indicates a hand die according to the present invention which consists of a metal base It of predetermined conteur designed to carry on its periphery the die knife II. The die knife Ii conforms to the contour of the base Ill and is in effect a continuous endless member designed to form, at the lower cutting edge I! thereof, the outline of the article which it is adapted to cut from suitable sheet plastic material If. The die cutting knife II is fastened to the base in any suitable manner.

The base It according to the present invention is designed to be heated in such a manner that the heat is readily conducted to the die cutting knife II. This may be accomplished by forming a channel or groove I4 in the upper surface of the base In and mounting therein a suitable electrical element l5, the terminals of which are conductively connected, in suitable manner, with the terminals is of a socket connection il projecting from the casing it, which, encloses the upper surface of the base. The casing is my be fastened to the base It in any suitable manner such as by partially recessing the outer surface of the casing to form a ledge I! which is bored to permit the screws to pass therethrough into suitable orifices in the upper face of base II. A suitable handle 2| may be mounted on the casing. In order to control the heat of the base II as required, a suitable thermostat 22 of suitable character is incorporated in the unit.

The base is heated to the required degree, thus to heat the die knife ii, and it is then only necessary to press it down upon the sheet material ll so that the heated die immediately cuts through the material cleanly.

A multiple die unit 13 may be provided as shown in Pig. 2, the base II of which is designed to carry a plurality of die elements 24. These die elements are of substantially similar construction to that described in Fig. 1 but eliminating the housing is and the thermostat 22. A common thermostat 25 may be provided in this case. The base B is fastened in any suitable manner to the movable platen 26 of a suitable press and the surface of the stationary platen II of the press is designed to carry the sheet material II. In this manner, therefore, the articles may be cut in multiple by the raising and lowering of the movable platen 26 of the press and the shifting of the sheet material 28 from which the articles are cut.

The same effect may be produced by means of the rotary die C shown in Fig. 3 carrying the die cutting units 29 which are heated in a similar manner and thermostatically controlled, the rotary die being mounted on a suitable shaft 8| which is rotated by suitable means in conjunction with a cooperating pressure roller II, the sheet material 32 passing therebetween as the cutting operation progresses.

In Fig. 4 a method of cutting material which may have adhesive characteristics is illustrated. Here the die element or elements 83 are carried on a base 34 secured to a movable platen ll of a press, while the material 36 is designed to be moved over the upper surface of the lower stationary platen 31 of the press. The material ll to which the out parts are preferably caused to adhere in the operation. In this connection as the die effects the cutting operation, the web of material ll together with the cut parts adhering thereto is automatically rolled as at II on a suitable shaft or drum ll so that it is automatically rerolled as it is fed off the shaft or drum ll. However, the waste reclaimable material II is stripped from the web ll and rolled in suitable manner on an independent roll so that it may be removed as a body and returned for reclaiming operations. As a result, therefore, the shaped, cut parts are neatly stored in a roll of material protected by the web It and it is but a simple matter to unroll it and remove the cut parts as they are required for use. Accordingly, therefore, an apparatus of this kind may be operated by intermittently rotating the shafts or drums II and Ii in cooperative relation to the vertical reciprocation of the die cutter II so that the material is thus out quickly and efilciently and automatically stored as it is cut. Alternatively, however, the shaped pieces may be left temporarily as part of the sheet material and the whole rolled on the shaft or drum ll (Fig. 4A) in which case the web of material a serves to prevent adhesive surfaces of the sheet from adhering on to the other. In this case the cut material would be partly attached to the waste reclaimable sheet by small webs as will be referred to hereinafter.

In Fig. 5 a similar die structure is shown to that previously described, including the peripheral cutting knife 42. This is heated in the manner described. In this case the centre portion ll of the base of the die cutter is of material which does not have as great heat conductivity as the 'portionsllsothatanembossingdiellmaybe mounted thereon and heated just sufficiently to provide for a simultaneous embossing of the article as it is cut by the die knife 42.

In the multiple cutting of shoe parts and other shaped articles, instead of cutting them completely from the sheet. as above described. it may in some cases be desirable to permit them to be carried away by the sheet as it travels from the die, as in the case of Fig. 4A above. In this connection, the die knife 42 is formed with suitable notches ll (Figs. 8 and '7) so that when the die passes through the sheet material, small webs 41 of material are left between the sheet and the cut outlines of the article. such as illustrated in general plan detail in Fig. 8.

In the case of soles in particular, it is desirable in many instances to provide for a bevelled edge. In this connection. the die knife 42 may be formed with the downwardly and outwardly bevelled portion 4| which, when it cuts through the material. forms a suitable bevel as shown in Fig. 9.

In Figs. 10, 11 and 12. an automatic machine for carrying out the die cutting operations is illustrated which may be made up of a frame composed of the side channels 40 and II each carrying suitable bearings for rotatably carrying cross shafts. viz., the idler shaft I and the driven shaft I! which carry pulleys II and I4 respectively. over which the endless belt II is designed to travel. Suitable bearing Journals are also provided for the actuating shaft I disposed substantially centrally of the machine and designed to effect the die cutting operation. In this connection, from a suitable motor I! a pulley II freely mounted on the idler shaft II is driven by a belt connection. The shaft II also freely'carries the small pulley ll forming a part of or rigis backed with a suitable web of material 3| 1. idly connected with pulley I. and belt connected a,se1,oso

with the large pulley II on the actuating shaft ll so as to cause a relatively slow rotation of shaft 50. The several pulleys may be suitably enclosed by a guard I.

The channel frame may be mounted on the feet 82 (Fig. which are formed with the adjustable means 63 so that the level of the machine may be varied as required. Moreover, a suitable adjustable idler 64 is provided to engage the belt 55 to cause it fully to clear the lower portions of the apparatus during their operation.

Overlying the shaft 58 is a base plate I rigidly .mounted on the spaced apart channels 40 and III. This is suitably oriflced to permit the standards 66 of a suitable movable carriage O1 to pass therethrough. The; carriage includes the 'top plate 68 and the bottom plate 68 while suitable coil springs ill encirclethe upper portions 01 the standards 56 and extendbetween the top plate 88 and the plate 65 mounted on the frame so that the carriage is resiliently mounted and accordingly is depressible; The cutter die assembly H is mounted on a suitable base 1! in turn mounted on the sliding platen 13 which is slidably carried by the guide elements ll (see Fig. 12) which are connected with the upper plate Blot the carriage 61. A cooperating lower sliding platen 15 is mounted on the plate I and is designed to underlie the belt 55.

The upper sliding platen I3 and lower sliding platen II are connected for corresponding sliding connection by means of, vertical pins or rods I6 which are rigidly carried by the actuating plate 11, slidably mounted on the lower surface of plate 65 in suitable guides I8. A pair of spaced apart bracket arms 19 are carried by the actuating plate 11 and carry therebetween, at their lower ends, a suitable cam roller III. This is designed to be engaged by a cam ll keyed on the shaft 56 so that rotation of the cam II is designed graduallyto cause the actuating plate TI to slide to the right, as viewed in Fig. 10. corresponding to the movement of the belt II, and, the material from which the articles are designed to be cut.

Mounted beside cam II on shaft 58, as shown particularly in Figs. 11 and 12, is a cam 82 which is designed to cooperate with a roller 83 suitably mounted from the base plate 89, so that, as the cam rise of cam 82 gradually engages the roller 83 the carriage i! will be downwardly moved against the compression of mounting springs 1.. Therefore, the cutting knives ll of the die or dies carried on the base 12 will be caused to be moved down to engage and traverse the sheet of material D. This must take place rather quickly while the release of the cutting knives from the thecarriagetostarttomoveupwardlywhich would normally be caused by the roller ll engaging the cam rise and permitting gradual upward movement, as the cam rise travels downwardly on the arcuaie surface or the roller. Instead the shoulders ll form a continuing guide surface to maintain the carriage in the maximum depressed position corresponding to the position reached when the maximum cam rise is engaging the upper extremity of the roller 83. Therefore, when the cam rise beyond the outer extremity of the sh ulders the shoulders are then permitted sharply to rise upwardly to engage the lowermost point of the cam beyond the shoulder 84 thereof and as a result an instantaneous withdrawal of the cutting knife Ii of the dies will be achieved.

. It will be appreciated, however, that as the cam material after cutting operation should be an I instantaneous withdrawal.

The instantaneous withdrawal is provided for between the shoulder formation on the cam 12 and the particular structure of the roller 83 and its mounting. In this connection reference is made to Fig. 14 wherein the cam rise terminates in the abrupt shoulder 84 Moreover, the roller 83 is mounted in a bifurcated bracket 85 (see Figs. 12 and 14) and is or a width less than the width of the cam so that portions of the arms of the bifurcated bracket will overlap the outer edges of the cam. The top surface of these arms are disposed at a tangent to the upper extremity of the circumference of the roller 83 and provide a retaining shoulder 86 laterally beyond the upper surface of the roller and when the shoulder ll passes this upper extremity it is not possible for rise of the cam 82 starts to cause the carriage .01 to move downwardly the gradual rise of cam Oi engaging the roller 00 of the brackets 19 will cause the upper and lower platens l3 and I5 to move with the belt, and the material D travelling therewith. Thus, as the die knives II engage and trav'ersethe material D, in the cutting operation, thedies are then travelling with the material and do so until they are instantaneously released therefrom in the manner described by the coactionof the shoulders 86 as they pass the shoulder 04 of cam 12 whereupon the cam rise of the cam ll disengages from the roller BI and the upper and lower platens l3 and 15 together with the dies return to normal position by spring action (not shown) In connection with this action it will be noted that the shaft 58 is shown connected by the chain liwith a sprocket on the belt drive shaft 52 which carries drive pulley 54 so that the latter is positively synchronized with the action of the cams, and the belt 55 and the material D moved thereby, are consequently moved at a co-related Deed.

In-orde toprovide for the quick release of the die, from the material D, a means of supplying air pressure between the die and the material is established. The plate as, sliding platen is and the die I2 and die are orificed centrally to form the air inlet passage 81* communicating with the enclosure '8 formed within the confines of the die cutter knife (see Fig. 12). A suitable flexible tube 89 is connected with the passage 81- and leads to an air valve 90 which is in communication with a source of compressed air. The valve 8.. is controlled by a depressible plunger 9| which projects downwardly and is designed to engage a suitable stationary element 92 on the plate .5. Therefore, as the carriage 61 moves downwardly in the cutting operation, the plunger Si is engaged by the element 92 and depressed. This opens the valve 90 and permits compressed air to flow to the enclosure 88, the lower area of which is then closed by the material D. As a result, therefore, air pressure builds up in the enclosure during the cutting operation and as the die is raised from the material the air pressure assures a clean release.

The die assembly H is preferably so constructed as to permit the ready removal and ready mounting of the die cutter. For instance,

91 of the opposed side plates 9| and 00 which are fastened to the die assembly. The flanges 21 are spaced downwardly from the heating plate 22 to form a guideway to receive the be'velled edgm of the mounting plate 94. Thus the mounting plate 24 may be quickly inserted in the guideways as shown in Fig. 13 and pushed to position as gauged by the stop bar 89 and pin I (Fig. 12) The side plate 92 is adjustable by means of the screw threaded adjusting element 9| which, when unscrewed slightly, causes the side plate 22 to be pressed back by means of the spring 22' permitting the plate 93 to slide readily into position. Thus, when the element 92" is tightened, the prusure of the flanges 91 against the bevelled edges 26 cause the plate 92 to be pressed tightly against the die mounting plate 94. Similarly, by reversing the above procedure, the plate 92 can easily be removed. Moreover, the mounting plate 24 of each die used in the machine can readily be preheated so that a quick change under practical conditions is provided for.

It will of course be obvious that the die cutting knife ill of the dies used in the machine or the cutting knives H or 22 of the other forms previously described may be given desired cutting edge characteristics, such as bevelling as disclosed in Fig. 9,- or may be bevelled and chamfered as shown at II! and I" in Fig. 15. In this way desired characteristics in the peripheral edge of the cut material are produced.

It will be apparent that the machine will permit the automatic cutting of shoe parts or other shaped pieces in comparatively fast manner, wherein the shaped parts are produced in multiple numbers where desired by the use of a number of cutter dies. In each case the die effects a clean cutting action and achieves the advantage previously outlined by reason of the heated knife.

What we claim as our invention is:

1. The method of cutting shaped pieces from plastic material having adhesive characteristics of the character described which comprise forming a cutting knife of a shape corresponding to the shape desired, heating said knife to a predetermined degree, causing a strip of said plastic material and an underlying web of carrying material to pass by said knife,.intermittently causing said knife to traverse said material and winding said plastic material and said carrying material after said shapes have been cut therefrom.

2. The method as claimed in claim 1 in which said plastic material is wound on one roll and said carrying material is wound on another roll.

the cut pieces being carried on said carrying material, said plastic material apart from the cut shapes thereof being stripped from said carrying material as it is wound on said rolls.

3. Apparatus for cutting plastic material of the character described which comprises means for moving a sheet of said plastic material over a base, a cutter knife disposed over said base, and having an outline corresponding to the shape m be cut from said material, means for heating said knife to a predetermined degree, means for moving said knife into engagement with said travelling material to causeit to traverse the latter, means for causing said knife to travel with said material as it is in engagement therewith, mean for withdrawing said knife therefrom and means for returning said knife to its original position.

4. Apparatus for cutting plastic material of the character described which comprises means for movingasheetofsaidplasticmaterialovera base,acutterknifedisposedoversaidbase,and havingan outline corresponding to the shapeto be cut from said material. a movable carriage designed to carry said knife, means for retaining saidcarriage and knife normally in spaced relationtosaidsheetmeansforactuatingsaid carriagetowardssaidsheetwcausesaidknifeto traverse said sheet, slidable means in connectionwithsaidcarriagetocausesaidknifeto travelwithsaidsheetasitengagesthelatterand meansforinstantaneouslyreleasingsaidcarriage aftersaidsheethasbeentraversedbysaid knife. said retaining meam causing said carriage and said knife to move away from said sheet, means,

for returning said slidable means to original position and means for causing said sheet to travel synchronously with said slidable means.

5.Apparatusasclaimedinclaim4,inwhich means is provided for creating air pressure between said cutting knife and the piece of materialbeingcutbysaidcuttingknifewherebyto cause said cut piece to adhere to the moving means for said sheet as said cutter knife is withdrawn from said material.

6. Apparatus as claimed in claim 3, in which the cutter knife includes a base and means for creating an air pressure within the confines of the cutter knife and between said base and said material to cause ready release of said material from said cutter knife as the latter is withdrawn therefrom.

7. Apparatus for cutting plastic material of the character described, which comprises mean for moving a sheet of said plastic material over a base, at least one cutting knife disposed over said base and having an outline corresponding to the shape to be cut from said material, means for heating said knife to a predetermined degree. means for moving said knife into engagement with said travelling material, means for causing said knife to travel with said material as it is in engagement therewith, means for withdrawing said knife therefrom, means for returning said knife to its original position, and means for creating air pressure between said cutting knife and the piece of material being cut by said knife whereby to cause said cut piece to disengage from said knife as the latter is withdrawn from said material.

CHARLES S. CHARRON. LYMAN CRAWFORD-BROWN.

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